Bill Murray proclaims himself Cubs-fan-in-chief

Barack Obama may be a devoted White Sox supporter, but Chicago’s other team, the Cubs, now have a presidential fan–or at least one that has held court before the White House press corps.

Actor Bill Murray, a noted party crasher, appeared unannounced at the White House briefing room on Oct. 21. The subject of his crash presser: The Chicago Cubs. (Murray, who was wearing a Cubs jacket, had been at the White House for a meeting with Obama. The reason for the meeting was not officially disclosed, but Murray is due to receive the Mark Twain prize for humor at the Kennedy Center tonight.)

Murray has long been a fan of the Cubs, which on Saturday earned a spot on the World Series after beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 5-0 to win their playoff series, 4 games to 2. That puts an end to the team’s 71-year absence from Major League Baseball’s best-of-7-games championship round.

The Cubs will now face the Cleveland Indians on Tuesday, much to the excitement of its long-suffering fans–and Fox Sports. The network has the exclusive right to the World Series and the Cubs’ historic qualification will likely be a boon for TV ratings.

The Cubs fan-in-chief himself might be feeling more ambivalent. He recently told Jimmy Kimmel that winning the World Series might corrupt the team’s fans, making them as unbearable as Boston Red Sox supporters now are after several title wins.